My Achilles Heel

Wayang Golek is a traditional form of puppetry from Sunda, West Java. Unlike flat leather shadow puppets, these puppets are made from wood, and being three-dimensional do not use a screen. The puppetts are ornate with colourful costumes, and have moveable arms and head.

The puppetteer sits on the floor behind a low "table" on which the puppetts perform. The shows are performed for at least six hours during the night, accompanied by gamelan music, with speech and singing to tell the story. This music is quite unlike the traditional court music from Solo, for example, and contains much banter and sound effects!

The stories are usually based on the epic stories of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, the show is only a small part of the whole epic. In Indonesia, people are familiar with the different characters appearing in the stories, which can be recognised by the size, shape, colour and angle of their eyes and nose and the way they walk, talk, sing, dance and fight. Kinds of wayang golek : hanoman, cepot, gareng, sugriwa, gatot kaca,bima, batara kala, anila and anjani.

Subject : Cross Cultural Understanding

Lecture: Cunong N, Suharja, Drs., M. Hum.

Stereotype of AIDS

Stereotype of AIDS

Stereotype is someone who judge something or someone from the cover. We can do that. Based my opinion stereotype is someone who judge something before he/she knows the truth. As proverb “Don’t judge the books from the cover".

Are assumed characteristics based on a large group of individuals whose beliefs, habits, and actions are perceived to be similar.

Based my experience I have a friend contract AIDS. My parents asked me to keep away from him. I can not do what my parents asked to me because I think no one can infect his disease. His illness just infected by hypodermic needle, making love and blood transfusion. My friend is Dani. He told me about his experience why he infect AIDS. Actually my friend has many problems when he met his friend. He tries to share with his friends, but unfortunately his friend attempt to persuade to using drugs.

His friend brings those drugs. It called Putaw. My friends try to reject it but he attempt to persuade him for using drugs. He can not reject it because he thinks that it can help him to out of his problems in that time. After he knew the effect of drugs, he just dazed and doing nothing. He using drugs about 3 years and he joint the hypodermic needle with someone who infected AIDS, but Dani doesn’t know. Day by day he felt so broke. He can not walked anymore. His parents take him to the hospital and check up his body. How very surprised that he infected AIDS. After he knew his illness he doesn’t have any friends. All his friends afraid to him. But I have opinion that we can not do that. He is human and human can do mistakes. I am still his friend until now. So do not judge if someone infected AIDS he or she is a bad human.

How Culture affects Marriage Among Educated (westernized) Nigerians

William Femi Awodele
"When an African man or woman is born and raised in Nigeria, Ghana, etc such a
person is greatly influenced by the culture and religion and may not be aware of it.


1. Issue of Dowry and the role of the man and woman

The payment of dowry is a common practice in Africa, while dowry
payments date back to Bible days, its meaning has changed. Dowry is now
seen as purchasing the woman, so the woman is seen as a property and not
a helpmate.

For many years when women were uneducated, men got away with treating
them as a property. But with women lawyers, doctors, and other highly
placed professionals, things are changing.

Based on the issue of dowry, women are treated different. We joke that a
woman's place is in the kitchen. African men force respect out of their
spouse by beating them instead of getting it through good leadership.
The leadership role of a man is generally interpreted as that of a boss
and servant, instead of the role stated in the Bible, as servant leader
which Christ himself demonstrated in John chapter 13 when He washed the
feet of His disciple.

While speaking to over 100 pastors and wives in Port-au-Prince, Haiti
last week (4/8 - 4/16/05) you could have heard the pin drop when I said
men and women are equal before God and men are only the leader among
equal.

Earning more than your husband is a new concept that many people don't
know how to deal with because for decades African men (and indeed men
all over the world) have tied leading the home to financial dominance or
more earning capacity.

2. Conflict Resolution

Africans have always resolved conflicts by going to the Elders in the
village or among the extended family, while this has served us well and
I still recommend it, it's becoming a problem for us to do because this
elders for the most part don't deal with the issues brought up e.g.
adultery (because they are committing adultery themselves), they only
pacify the wife and husband. Because of our Spiritual believes we do not
believe in airing our dirty laundry, which means help is not sought for
marital problems until it is too late and when help is sought, a lot of
emphasis is placed on what the "devil" did instead of taking
responsibility for what happened and fixing it. Every marriage will have
problem(s) the and faster you seek help the better for your marriage.

3. Romance

My maternal grandpa had 10 wives that I know and this is typical of men
in his days (read my novel "The Power of Forgiveness" - by Femi Awodele
xulonpress.com). If they show favoritism to one of the women, that woman
is in trouble with the other wives. A man who is able to have sex with
10 different women do not need romance (men give romance to get sex,
while women give sex to get romance - Tommy Nelson). As Africans we did
not see our parents show romance to their spouse(s) and if anyone does
that we call them names "woman wrapper" or "Ruth". What gets on my
nerves is when African men tell me that being Romantic is a western
culture, then I refer them to the Bible which was written thousands of
years ago and it has nothing to do with western culture.

Being romantic with your wife or husband is the way to maintain your
marriage. Women were created by God to be an emotional creation, while
men are logical or analytical. For centuries, the African culture has
forced the woman to work opposite the function of their God given
hormone "estrogen" (If an African woman asks her husband for sex - which
will happen during her ovulation period - she is called "Ashawo")

4. Influence of Extended Family

Extended family has tremendous influence on an African Marriage. A
couple once told me that the husband's mother told both of them
separately not to reveal what they earn to each other. In my speaking
engagements, people have told me how the husband or wives listen to the
family in Nigeria or Togo and not to the spouse they live with here in
the United States or in London. One man actually told his wife that
until he finish building a house in Nigeria they will continue to live
in apartment with 3 kids, when I ask him when he was moving back to
Nigeria, he said not for a long time, but he believed building a house
for his parents while his kids live in a bad neighborhood and go to a
bad school district is the best thing. Many women soon challenge the
reasoning behind such thinking by refusing to combine their income
(which is needed to face the bills in western countries - you cannot
bribe NEPA men to go away if you don't pay your bills). A lot of women
also, choose not to combine their income with the husband because they
think, it is the husband's job to pay bills - they'll rather buy the
latest fashion and its accessories from Switzerland or Austria.

5. Extreme of the Women

While most of the dominance is men related, the women have also bought
into the lies of the national organization of women (NOW). I do lay
counseling and would not tell any woman to stay in an abusive
relationship. I would suggest you separate (if physical or emotional
abuse is involved) while seeking help from professional counselors or
your church or mosque (hopefully your pastor or imam will know when to
refer you for professional help). Divorce is not the better option. The
man is still the head of the home (Ephesians 5: 22 - leader among equal)
and he should be accorded such respect. Don't usurp his authority
because you earn more or throw him out because he is a Taxi driver. You
will get more done by gentle nudging him to do things and occasionally
showing tough love when necessary.

Author: Mr. Femi Awodele
Reference: http://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-104.0.html

Based on my opinion , the life of Nigerian Marriage is also involved by the extended family while in our country, the problems of marrige or family should be handle by themselves without anyone try to overcome the family problem.
More over in USA they are really individual. Their extended family can not involveto their own problem in their marriage or their family.

Democration

In contemporary western usage, the term "democracy" usually refers to a government chosen by the people, whether it is direct or representative. The term "republic" has many different meanings but today often refers to a representative democracy with an elected head of state, such as a President, serving for a limited term, in contrast to states with a hereditary monarch as a head of state, even if these states also are representative democracies with an elected head of government such as a Prime Minister. Therefore, today the term is used by states which are quite different from the earlier use of the term, such as the former German Democratic Republic and the USSR. I think, every country has a government. Such as :

1. Government by the people; especially : rule of the majority b: a\government in which the supreme power is vested in the people andexercised by them directly or indirectly through a system ofrepresentation usually involving periodically held free elections
2. A political unit that has a democratic government
3. Capitalized : the principles and policies of the Democratic partyin the United States
4. The common people especially when constituting the source of political authority
5. The absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges

Pilgrimage

Pilgrimage is an innovative publication featuring personal practical writings reflecting on the human journey. Our essays bubble up from the depths of the human heart and seek to celebrate and offer a deeper understanding of human experience. Our goal is to discover what can nurture our true Self, what transforms our soul. It is our belief that as we dig deeply for our own personal truths, we reach the healing waters which can sustain us all. Pilgrimage is Reflections on the Human Journey The Hajj is the Fifth Pillar of Islam and therefore a very important part of the Islamic faith. All physically fit Muslims who can afford it should make the visit to Makkah, in Saudi Arabia, at least once in their lives. Every year around 2 million Muslims converge on Makkah. They visit a shrine in the city known as the Ka'bah, built by Ibrahim (Abraham) and Isma'il (Ishmael) at the command of Allah (God). It is a place for all who want to reaffirm their faith. Eid-ul-Adha celebrates the occasion when Allah appeared to Ibrahim in a dream and asked him to sacrifice his son Isma'il as an act of obedience to God. The devil tempted Ibrahim by saying he should disobey Allah and spare his son. As Ibrahim was about to kill his son, Allah intervened: instead Allah provided a lamb as the sacrifice. This is why today all over the world Muslims who have the means to, sacrifice a sheep (alternatively a goat or cow can be used), as a reminder of Ibrahim's obedience to Allah. They usually share out the meat with family and friends, as well as the poorer members of the community. In Britain, the animal has to be killed at a slaughterhouse. Eid-ul-Adha is a 1-3 day celebration and in Muslim countries is a public holiday. It starts with Muslims going to the Mosque for prayers, dressed in their best clothes, and thanking Allah for all the blessings they have received. It is also a time when they visit family and friends as well as offering presents. At Eid it is obligatory to give a set amount of money to charity to be used to help poor people buy new clothes and food so they too can celebrate. Based on the articles that I have read is I think Pilgrimage is journey to Makkah which should visited by Moslem whom has materials. The aim of we need to sacrifice "Hewan Kurban" to share out the meat with people who need it. So that, we must to remember with them. References : http://pilgrimagepress.org/bestof/index.htm http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/religion/islam/eid_haj.shtml

Bilingualism

Bilingualism is someone who can speak with two or more than two languages. Such as me, I can speak in two languages. I am sundanesse but in my home my family and I speak both of Indonesian and Sundanesse languages. I learned English for the first time in Junior high school. Actually I am still confused to learn English because I never heard before. When my teacher thought English, all of student can not understand what she was talking about because she did not teach us from the basic. But after we learn English from basic, we know that English is the one of a thousand languages in this world. Especially for me, English is my third language that I have ever learned. I felt happy when I knew about English because English is the new one for me. Not only English that I learned but also about the culture of English. I knew that English language has many patterns. Such as Present Tense, Past Tense, Future Tense etc. In English has irregular and regular verb but not for Indonesia. That is the differences between Indonesian and English languages.

Prejudice & Stupidity

This story is about prejudice and stupidity..

It begins in 1945.One day a Spanish-speaking family moved into one of the four apartments on our landing. They were the first Puerto Ricans I had met. They had a son who was about my age named Hector, and the two of us became friends.They were the first Puerto Ricans I had met.
They had a son who was about my age named Hector, and the two of us became friends.They always played with toy soldiers together. About a year after they met, his family moved to another part of Manhattan's West Side and he does not see Hector again until he entered Booker T. Washington Junior High School as an 11-year-old. The Special Class. Hector could not be anything, because he come from a lower class. These situations make them more tracked than before until they had family each other, Kaufman still avoid Hector and never want to talk a
lot with Hector. One day after they were grow older then before Kaufman read an article that makes him change his assumptions of Hector.Kaufman try to apologize to hector.Because of that he make stupidity.
According my opinion is they are friendship, but they have many prejudice after they became teenagers, because they are felt regret. It called Stupidity.

Personal Experience

My personal experience changed my thinking about how to survive in my life. 4 years ago, before my brother passed away I thought that life is simple. Because I never thought that I will survive my family without him beside me. I never thought that he will leave us earlier. I felt so confused to solve my family's problems without him. But life must go on, so I have to continue this life and be grow up to face this life and realize that life is not easy. I have to show to my parents that I can make them proud of me. I have many plans to make my parents believe that I can make them happy whether without my brother in our new life.

Japanesse Culture

Based on my opinion, Culture covers beliefs or thought, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts in society use to cope with their world and with one another, and that are transmitted from generation to generation through learning. The interesting things of Japan are Japan has a good obligation which strict people to live in discipline order. Another interesting thing is the Japanese people has a high spirit to reach their goal. They are efficient, and live in simple way. Japaneses people also respect their traditional customs, although the teenagers do harajuku style to express themselves. I want to give my opinion about the way of thinking between Indonesian people and Japanese people. Indonesian people like to show off what they have to many people although they are in debt. For example, Indonesian people in Jakarta prefer to drive their own cars than using public transport. It is very different from Japanese people who choose walking than using their car to go to their office.